Over two dozen swept up in cocaine-distribution arrests, including boat racing team owner
.jpg "A federal grand jury indicted 27 people in South Florida on cocaine dealing charges late last month.")
A federal drug-trafficking sweep targeting more than two dozen suspects resulted in multiple arrests in South Florida this week, with one of the charges involving distributing cocaine within 1,000 feet of a playground.
The owner of a well-known offshore race boat team, two one-time employees of the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority and members of the charter fishing and commercial boating industry from the Keys to Palm Beach were among those indicted in the FBI-led investigation.
The feds’ takedown was reminiscent of the cocaine-cowboy era in the 1980s when white powder flowed from Colombia through the Caribbean to South Florida and drug busts were a regular occurrence.
FBI agents conducted raids Thursday involving at least 27 suspects over a four-year period, according to federal court records.
“I can confirm that the FBI, in collaboration with our partners, is conducting court-authorized activity at multiple locations in Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties,” Special Agent Willie Creech, an FBI spokesman, told the Miami Herald, declining to comment further.
Some of the defendants began making their initial appearances in Miami federal court on Thursday and Friday, dealing with issues of legal representation, bail and arraignment.
In late August, a federal grand jury indicted multiple defendants on charges of conspiring to distribute cocaine and other drug-related offenses between 2020 and 2023, according to court records.
Caught up in the case is Florida Keys offshore racing speed boat team owner John Robert Strama Jr., who faces life in federal prison if convicted of the conspiracy and distribution charges.
Strama, 42, who lives in the Middle Keys city of Marathon, operates a professional powerboat racing team called JS Racing S-7, based in Marathon. He wasn’t in custody as of Saturday afternoon. Strama on Saturday told the Herald that he is waiting to speak with his attorney before he can comment.
In addition to the cocaine charges, Strama is also charged with using a child under age 14 to engage in drug trafficking and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon.
Separately, Strama pleaded no contest in February 2009 to cocaine possession and dealing in stolen property and was sentenced to probation, according to Monroe County court records.
Federal authorities plan to seize several assets, including real estate, vehicles and boats, that they claim were paid for with profits from cocaine sales, according to this week’s indictment filed by prosecutor Sean McLaughlin.
Two men connected to the Florida Keys Aqueduct Authority, the utility that pumps fresh water to the island chain, were among those charged, according to court records.
Rusty John Stiglitz, 39, of Marathon, a distribution supervisor for the Aqueduct Authority, started working at the utility in 2010, Greg Veliz, executive director for the agency, said Friday.
Daniel Ferndando Ramirez, 43, of Key West, was a distribution service operator who was hired in 2013, Veliz said. The utility fired him in January because he failed to take a drug test, Veliz said.
The reason for the drug test was because Veliz and other officials at the utility learned of the FBI investigation.
“I called both of them into my office and asked them, ‘Is this true?’ Both confirmed it was, so I asked them both to take a drug test. One said yes, one said no,” Veliz said. “The one who failed to take the drug test was fired. Stiglitz passed the drug test and went back to work.”
In the wake of the indictment, the utility suspended Stiglitz without pay pending the outcome of the case, Veliz said. His salary is $112,507, Veliz said. As of Friday, he was being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
If convicted, he faces up to life in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
It was unclear Friday if Ramirez was in custody. Information about his legal representation was not immediately available.
Court records show the following defendants were also charged: Daniel Delgado, 38, of Miami Springs; Orlando Rene Gonzalez, 29, of Hialeah; Alfred Michael Nunez, 34, of Marathon; Elvis Lazaro Ruiz, 31, of Marathon; Pedro Luis Lugo Jr., 36, of Marathon; Nyran Antonio Ross, 32, of Marathon; Tyrell Lamar Williams, 36, of Marathon; Louis Charles Arvelo, 38, of Boca Raton; Andrew Hamill Hunt, 36, of Marathon; Kevin Andrew Yeider, 46, of Marathon; Jose Enrique Olivo Sanchez, 34, of Marathon; Kenyatta Scott, Jr., 32, of Key West; MacArthur Junior Sheppard, 36, Marathon; Alberto Ravelo, 34, of Hialeah; Jr., Allison Annmarie Thomas, 29, of Marathon; Kizmet Yatz Qualls, 51, of Marathon; James Dean Chatelain, 34, of Marathon; Michael David Corbosiero, 68, of Boca Raton; Michael Joseph Rodamer, 63, of Key Colony Beach; Robert Roy Taute, Jr., 50, of Marathon; Bairon Aceituno Machado, 34, formerly of Marathon; Lazaro Jesus Hernandez, 35, formerly of Marathon; Anthony Velez Llanes, 38, of Little Torch Key, and Tyler Jameson MacMillan, 33, of Big Pine Key.
Ramon de la Cabada is representing Arvelo, who was released from custody Thursday after posting a $100,000 bond, according to court records. When reached Friday, he said he had just been retained and hadn’t had a chance to go through the indictment.
“We look forward to our day in court,” de la Cabada said.
Miami Lakes attorney Nayib Hassan is representing Delgado, who also is being held at the Federal Detention Center in Miami.
“Daniel Delgado is presumed innocent of the single charge presented against him and we look forward to reviewing all the evidence in the case,” Hassan said in an email Friday.
Alberto Ravelo is being represented by Miami attorney Adrian Peter Nunez, according to court records, who did not respond to a request for comment.
No other attorneys were listed for the other defendants as of Friday afternoon.
This story has been updated. The original story incorrectly reported that John Strama owns the Marathon Mermaid tour boat company. Strama built boats for the company, but does not own it.
This story was originally published September 6, 2024 at 7:48 AM.
